US President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that easing sanctions on Iran is not under consideration in the current negotiations towards ending the war, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and paring down Iran's nuclear capability.
This comes as Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has repeatedly insisted that unlocking access to his country's money should be a confidence-building measure, if not a precondition, for talks with the US.
Both Ghalibaf and Iran’s central bank chief travelled to Qatar on Monday to discuss the release of some $6bn that has been held in the Gulf state - on Washington's orders - since September 2023, signalling a potential breakthrough.
Iran is desperately short of cash and maintains it is owed up to $120bn of its own revenue that has been withheld by foreign governments and banking institutions, thanks to US sanctions steadily imposed on the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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